Living on the Edge (of spring and summer, wild and civilized)

Finally completed a sign to face the street and tell the neighbors what we are up to.

She's ready. For anything. (Except spiders.)

I love the way Rainer thinks.
Godwit Days writing contest essay above. Marbled Godwits are a shorebird species that inspired a huge annual birding festival in Humboldt County. Bird watchers often stroll past our house to see enormous flocks of birds that live along the coast, at least for part of the year.

Soon to be whacked, these geraniums signal the abundance all around right now. See Rainer's face in the laundry room window, nestled between baby doll sentries?

We have so much to share in this blog. The garden has remained a focal point for our learning and living.

-------------

Earth Day Seed Bombs

There are not too many blighted areas around this lush land, but we'll find them, and we'll bomb them--with lovely seeds that shall explode and erode and make somewhere more beautiful.
Here's a site with a seed bomb recipe. We made the classic clay balls with a little sand, clay, compost/soil and seeds. You knead them all together into a ball, let them dry and they are ready for action.
www.guerillagardening.org/ggseedbombs.html

Tadpoles and New Pond

Closely watched, eagerly awaited, one hundred and six tadpoles by Rainer's count.

An enormous tractor tire, pond liner, inside container for two store-bought leopard frog tadpoles. Stocked with goldfish and water plants, ready for frogophilia. A new field guide and other frog books support the whole effort.

Farm Class

Redwood Roots Farm in Bayside, CA. What a fun place to learn how to grow food, in a valley surrounded by redwood trees and a creek.

Digging for worms, investigating the properties of great vermiculture compost.

The baby goat above was a fun side show, just one of the student's family pets getting some fresh air in the parking lot.
------------------
Bunny!


Speaking of pets, we're getting a bunny in a few days. Easier than a dog, right? We embrace the new furry critter that will make Frida's wishes come true. After hosting the new mother bunny and her babies for a couple of months, we'll choose one to stay with us. Frida is painting the new hutch dad made. Looking forward to the fertilizer, too, of course.

---------------------
Garden Delights


Happy-time Thyme time. Yay!

So many special plants to share. This is twin berry-look at the two flowers!- a native honeysuckle finally loving its spot in the garden.

Also vibrant after two years, a grape vine.

Feeling the healing power of comfrey, Frida says, "ouch!". Well, you have to process this prickly plant to get it's benefits.

-

In the following two pictures, the rise and fall of an ecium. They have grown to a car-stopping thirty feet along the street. There are also some falling right down in the back yard as they lean and grow. Hopefully these roadside attractions won't be falling on passersby.

--

Rainer's pointing to carrots sprouting in the newfangled no-digging-required box garden we started. The idea is ease and efficiency. And pest control. You gather up old things you already have, like a box, some twigs and chunks. Then layer the box with those composty things and soil. Plant seeds. When your veggies are done, so will the box be done. We'll see. Better than fighting a losing battle with gophers in the field.

--

Calendula and California poppy!

We received several red hot poker flowers from Mary Ann at the annual homeschooler's plant exchange, held at our house this year. What a bountiful time it was!

Looking forward to a wonderful asparagus bed, with parsley companions around the border.

Frida is peaking between flowers and seedpods of the totally edible "money plant", or wild mustard. Elephant garlic is ready to harvest, rose bush in the foreground, raspberries in the background.

First raspberries!

Source of anxiety: bamboo is fighting its way out of the container. It will rule our world if we don't do something! Though I empathize. . .

--
* Coming up is more of the Great Sunflower Project. The link here is to their Great Bee Count planned for July 16th. We've kept records of our bee activity so we can continue to observe and compare the data to this year's counts.

* Also excited to host an herbalist for a scavenger hunt and botanical drawing session.

* Will this be the year we make money from raspberries?! Let it be. They've saved us a lot of money getting through the winter with "free" frozen berries, which just ran out in April. We've got many more beds of raspberries planted this year, so should be a season of abundance for our Candy Berry Gardens label.

See you family and friends! Hope you all have a delightful summer in your own backyards!

~Kris, Zak, Rainer and Frida